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Increase in camping rates at the Wilderness Road campground
Effective June 1, 2013, camping rates will increase. Tent sites will increase to $14.00 per night and RV sites with electrical hookup will increase to $20.00 per night. Group camp sites will increase to $35.00 per night.
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Special Program offered in place of Hensley tour on June 16
The regularly scheduled Hensley tour will not be offered on June 16 but will be replaced by a special Father's Day program. The road to the Hensley Settlement will be open to visitors and living history demonstrations will be offered. More »
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Cave Tour Alert!
White Nose Syndrome is a disease that is killing bats in great numbers and has been found in park caves. While visiting Gap Cave please do not wear or bring anything that has been in other caves. Skylight Cave is currently closed.
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Civil War Event Cancelled
Invisible Souls: Behind the Veil of the Civil War, a special event showcasing stories of the Civil War October 4, 5, and 6, 2013 has been cancelled. Please call the park visitor center at (606) 248-2817, extension 1075 for more information.
Preserving Mining History
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Barry Thacker
Contact: visitor center, (606) 248-2817 Hidden History Lecture Series Continues at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Coal mining is an important part of this area's heritage, and on Saturday, May 2, visitors can learn more about its rich history during a program at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. As part of the park's Hidden History series, engineer Barry Thacker will give a program on the volatile mining history of Coal Creek, Tennessee (now Lake City). He will also explore the rich legacy of Welsh miners in Kentucky. Thacker is a founder of the Coal Creek Watershed Foundation and has become immersed in the history of coal mining in east Tennessee. He will share the story of the Coal Creek War of 1891-92, during which miners fought the Tennessee Militia to abolish the use of convict miners, as well as the tragic history of the mining disasters at Fraterville in 1902 and Cross Mountain in 1911. Thacker has also become a local expert in the legacy of the Welsh miners of Tennessee and Kentucky, and will share some of the fascinating stories of their culture and lasting influence in the region. The program, which is the second in the park's Hidden History Lecture Series, begins at 2 pm at the visitor center and is free. For more information on park programs, please call 606-248-2817. |
Did You Know?
Kentucky’s Historian Laureate, Dr. Thomas Clark, listed Cumberland Gap as #1 in his list of 11 sites that every Kentuckian should visit. (Dr. Clark passed away on July 28th, 2005… just two weeks short of his 102nd birthday!)